Alamode is Holding me Hostage

[TA Glassman]

Dear Fellow Appraisers,
I used to use Alamode for my Appraisal software. Due to health reasons I have to take an approximate 1 year leave of absence from my appraisal practice. Consequently, I did not renew my subscription with Alamode. I had a previous client ask me to re-appraise her house again. I said I would refer a colleague to her. Tried to send my colleague a copy of the previous appraisal. I am no longer able to even look at the previous report because Alamode wants their $600 (or whatever) for a new subscription. My colleague who also uses Alamode cannot open the 3 different types of files available to me for this previous report. I do not have the money to give them for a subscription I will not be using for 1 year. How can I open this file so anyone will be able to read it? What if a governing body wanted the file? Can Alamode hold my reports hostage like this? They are all located on my personal computer, but have been converted to extensions that are unable to be opened without their software. If anyone has an answer, I would appreciate it.

 

[glenn walker]

Dear Fellow Appraisers,
I used to use Alamode for my Appraisal software. Due to health reasons I have to take an approximate 1 year leave of absence from my appraisal practice. Consequently, I did not renew my subscription with Alamode. I had a previous client ask me to re-appraise her house again. I said I would refer a colleague to her. Tried to send my colleague a copy of the previous appraisal. I am no longer able to even look at the previous report because Alamode wants their $600 (or whatever) for a new subscription. My colleague who also uses Alamode cannot open the 3 different types of files available to me for this previous report. I do not have the money to give them for a subscription I will not be using for 1 year. How can I open this file so anyone will be able to read it? What if a governing body wanted the file? Can Alamode hold my reports hostage like this? They are all located on my personal computer, but have been converted to extensions that are unable to be opened without their software. If anyone has an answer, I would appreciate it.

Sorry but the other three main providers do the same exact same thing. BUT you shoudl have your PDF Copies somewhere on your computer you can open and still have copies of those.

 

[TA Glassman]

Just because they all do it, does not make it right. Can you direct me how to find the PDF? I can see a PDF icon but it is a .ztl extension. When I try to open it, it tells me I have to go to the original source app and save it as a PDF there, which I can't do.

 

[glenn walker]

Just because they all do it, does not make it right. Can you direct me how to find the PDF? I can see a PDF icon but it is a .ztl extension. When I try to open it, it tells me I have to go to the original source app and save it as a PDF there, which I can't do

Nobody said it was right thats another issue, the PDF are on your hard drive in PDF Files unless you only saved them through Alamode.

Method 2: File Explorer

1. Open a File Explorer window on your PC.
2. In the search box on the top right of your screen, enter "type: . pdf" - again, without the quotes, then hit Enter. ...
3. In the main window, you'll see your PDF files displayed. Click on the one you're looking for to open it in your installed PDF app.

 

[Mejappz]

Just because they all do it, does not make it right. Can you direct me how to find the PDF? I can see a PDF icon but it is a .ztl extension. When I try to open it, it tells me I have to go to the original source app and save it as a PDF there, which I can't do.

I don't use Almaode but you may want to check under my documents " My Alamode " or something similar to see where they store the PDFs. If not under the C: drive under Program files(x86). I hope you get better.

 

[Jerry Bone Jr]

Look in your "XML Export" folder for the PDF version of the report.

 

[Jerry Bone Jr]

Documents > a la mode > XML Export

 

[J Grant]

Dear Fellow Appraisers,
I used to use Alamode for my Appraisal software. Due to health reasons I have to take an approximate 1 year leave of absence from my appraisal practice. Consequently, I did not renew my subscription with Alamode. I had a previous client ask me to re-appraise her house again. I said I would refer a colleague to her. Tried to send my colleague a copy of the previous appraisal. I am no longer able to even look at the previous report because Alamode wants their $600 (or whatever) for a new subscription. My colleague who also uses Alamode cannot open the 3 different types of files available to me for this previous report. I do not have the money to give them for a subscription I will not be using for 1 year. How can I open this file so anyone will be able to read it? What if a governing body wanted the file? Can Alamode hold my reports hostage like this? They are all located on my personal computer, but have been converted to extensions that are unable to be opened without their software. If anyone has an answer, I would appreciate it.

If you can;t help your colleague out then you can;t. Let them do their own appraisal from scratch.

In your free time, when under no pressure, you can explore if there is any way to retrieve old files.

 

[JTip]

BUT you shoudl have your PDF Copies somewhere on your computer you can open and still have copies of those.

this.

 

[DWiley]

Dear Fellow Appraisers,
I used to use Alamode for my Appraisal software. Due to health reasons I have to take an approximate 1 year leave of absence from my appraisal practice. Consequently, I did not renew my subscription with Alamode. I had a previous client ask me to re-appraise her house again. I said I would refer a colleague to her. Tried to send my colleague a copy of the previous appraisal. I am no longer able to even look at the previous report because Alamode wants their $600 (or whatever) for a new subscription. My colleague who also uses Alamode cannot open the 3 different types of files available to me for this previous report. I do not have the money to give them for a subscription I will not be using for 1 year. How can I open this file so anyone will be able to read it? What if a governing body wanted the file? Can Alamode hold my reports hostage like this? They are all located on my personal computer, but have been converted to extensions that are unable to be opened without their software. If anyone has an answer, I would appreciate it.

We often think in terms of "buying" appraisal forms software, but careful reading of the accompanying agreements will almost always reveal that the user is agreeing to a license to use the software for a specified period of time. You essentially rent it rather than buying it. Just like an apartment, once your lease is up, so are you rights to use it. It is up to the appraiser to be aware of that and plan accordingly, as addressed in lines 285-287 of the Record Keeping Rule in USPAP.

Speaking of USPAP, I am assuming that you have obtained the appropriate/applicable permission, as covered in lines 248-254 of the Confidentiality section of the Ethics Rule, prior to attempting to distribute the report to another appraiser.